Adults who had so-called metabolic syndrome when they were children have a substantially increased risk of having heart disease in their 30s, researchers report.

The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors — such as high blood pressure, obesity and high blood sugar levels — that together increase the likelihood of developing heart problems or diabetes.

Individual components of metabolic syndrome are known to track from childhood into adulthood, but the association between metabolic syndrome in childhood and cardiovascular risk later in life has not been established, Dr. John A. Morrison and his associates explain in the medical journal Pediatrics.

The researchers analyzed data, collected between 1973 and 1976, on levels of blood glucose, triglycerides, “good” cholesterol, body weight, and blood pressure in 771 children aged 5 to 19 years. Click here for full article